Reconsideration of "Qardh" as a Profitable Contract in Islamic Banking

As the main incentive of a bank, as an economic agent, is gaining profit, the prohibition of lender asking borrower any bonus out of Qardh in Islamic Shari'ah have marginalized this type of contract in Islamic banking system and, in contrary to conventional banking system, let other types of Islamic contracts be replaced. Although Qardh contracts face serious limitations in Islamic transactions, compared with other types of contracts used in banking systems, this type of contract have significant economic and juridical advantages, which should not be ignored. The major question in this study is whether utilizing profitable Qardh in a Riba-free banking system possible. Based on an analytical-descriptive approach, this paper tries to evaluate the possibility of utilizing a profitable framework in which Qardh, like other Islamic contracts, can be used in a Riba-free banking system. Having studied the characteristics of Qardh contracts, and the necessity of distinguishing the general concept of "Qardh" from special concept of "Qardh Hassan" in Islamic Shari'ah, this study points out some advantages of this type of contract and introduces a mechanism in which a profitable Qardh has been utilized in a Riba-free banking environment. JEL Classification: E00, E02, E4, E5